Warrington – a retail centre potentially vulnerable from its excellent transport links to Liverpool and Manchester – has seen footfall and sales rise slightly at its main shopping centre.

Golden Square, home to Debenhams, Bhs and Waterstones, welcomed 318,000 shoppers in the first week of December and 325,000 people last week – both up 1% on last year. However, the figures remain below the 2007 levels, which were boosted by the completion of a £150m redevelopment.

Ian Cox, marketing manager at Golden Square Shopping Centre, said: “We are quite buoyant. We are trading 2% up versus last year and are more than happy with how it is going.

“The crux of our Christmas has been keeping it local. With the introduction of Liverpool One, and the presence of the Trafford Centre, for Warrington and for Golden Square it’s been quite important to maintain our shoppers’ loyalty.” Julie Webb, general manager of Grosvenor Shopping Centre, in Chester, was also upbeat about how its retailers are faring.

She said: “Despite a difficult climate in the retail sector this year, the story at the Grosvenor shopping centre has been very positive. A number of new stores have opened and we’ve been informed by these stores that they are all doing well.”

The British Retail Consortium surveyed the major retailers among its membership, and all were confident sales would not be worse than 2008. However nearly two-thirds were expecting sales to be about the same, despite comparing them to weak trading last year.

Stephen Robertson, British Retail Consortium director general, said: “There's some good news here, but we're not out of trouble yet.

“I'm reassured that retailers are more confident about their prospects this Christmas, but remember the comparison is with dramatic sales falls last year.”